Powerless

We have been enjoying our stay at Benners thus far. I bought a hammock to relax and read. Dave has either kayaked or mountain biked every day. The kids made friends and are going strong from morning 'til night. We found our local amenities in Uniontown which is only 20 minutes away over what we lovingly call "the hill of doom".
It's a ridiculously steep hill on route 50 that gave us some trouble during our trip here from West Virginia.

Last night we got the crazy thunderstorms that affected large portions of the east. We lost power around 8pm and still are doing without it. The kids haven't minded since they got cheap ice cream from the camp store and the pool is still open. We currently have no running water either because it comes from a well that functions on an electric pump. Could be an interesting couple of days ahead for the Meile's

So other than being forced primitive, all is well and we are enjoying our adventure in western PA. I am writing this from my phone so excuse the grammar an typos. I am not the expert phone typer like my children. Hope to write another update soon. Take care for now!

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On the Road Again...

Today we hit the road for western Pennsylvania.  We are going to Benner's Meadow Campground near Ohiopyle State Park.  It is one of our favorite places to visit and Dave love's to kayak the Yough.  We will be staying there until mid July.

The past two days we took some things off our bucket lists by having some adventure right here in York.  Saturday, we took the kids mountain biking at Lake Redman and Kain Park.  It was the first time they've actually mountain biked and we had a great time.  It felt great to be back on my bike and the kids did amazing!  Sunday, we did a kayaking trip down the Codorus with with kids and some friends.  It was a very low level; so perfect for getting them down without much issue.  It's hard to believe it takes four hours from the bridge at Sherman Street to our property by the furnace!  The Codorus weaves back and forth through the trees with several rapids and a lovely waterfall.  It was a great weekend and a fun way to enjoy home.

So stay tuned for updates on our adventures once again.  After our month in western PA we head south again to the Florida Panhandle.  We are saving our trip out west until a later date when we can better plan.

Ocracoma Daze

Thursday morning was our travel day to Ocracoke. Ocracoke is a small island off the tip of Cape Hatteras.  It is approximately 19 miles long and the town sits around Silver Lake.  It is known for being a port for Black Beard the pirate. 

It was a beautiful drive through the Outer Banks.  We met my parents at the ferry and we were able to ride over together.  I love the ferry ride to the island.  It's 45 minutes across the Pamlico Sound.  I've gone to Ocracoke since I was a baby and we would go down every year when I was a kid.  Dave and I spent our honeymoon there and we've taken our own family there most years. 

Typically we go down later in June with my sisters and their families.  This year we decided to go for the Ocrafolk Music and Story-telling Festival.  My parents went last year and loved it!


When we got on the island the kids helped my parents unload and Dave and I found our campsite at Teeter's and set up.  We had dinner with my parents at Howard's Pub.  We ordered their amazing hush puppies and I had a blackened tuna dinner which was to-die-for! 


Friday morning we headed out to the beach.  It was truly a perfect day.  The kids played in the waves; something we didn't see much of during our trip to Florida.  In the evening, we went to a pot luck dinner to kick off the festival.  Several of the local restaurants provided food and we brought our key lime pie.  After dinner, the kids joined a kazoo band playing "When the Saints.." as they marched to the Ocracoke school gymnasium for the auction.  They had a blast!  Following the auction there was a celtic jam in Deep Water Theater which we listened to for a little, then we went to the outside stage and heard a band called "L Shaped Lot".  They were awesome!  The kids and I danced and had a fun close to the evening.

VA Beach!!!!

We had a wonderful trip last week to Virginia Beach and Ocracoke, North Carolina.  We left Sunday evening and traveled a few hours down 95.  We spent the night in the camper at a rest stop just before Kings Dominion.  I love doing this because the traffic isn't too bad and we don't burn ourselves out for the next days adventure.  The driving was more challenging this time because it rained and the lines on the highway were not clearly marked because of construction.

We got up in the morning and drove the rest of the way to Virginia Beach.  We stayed in First Landing State Park.  We love this area because we stay out of the hustle and bustle, yet we're close enough to visit it when we want.  Our site was right next to the beach access so it was just a short walk over the dunes to enjoy the beach and Chesapeake Bay.  We enjoyed swimming and snorkeling there and it was extremely hot so the water felt amazing! 

In the late afternoon we drove up to the Virginia Beach inlet and boardwalk area.  It's not really a "board" walk though since the entire length is paved.  We caught the tail-end of their Memorial Day surf competition and the kids played at the playground on the beach.

On Tuesday we took a bike ride on the "board"walk.  It was beautiful and we loved getting the exercise.  Afterwards, Camden and Dave went fishing and the girls and I sat by the ocean taking in some rays.  The girls jumped waves and played on their boogie boards.  We stayed until a thunderstorm passed through.

As we drove away, Lauryl informed us that her retainer should be in my beach bag, but it wasn't.  We drove back to the beach just as the storm concluded and we began our search.  With some divine intervention, Dave miraculously found it by stepping on it buried in the sand.  So I guess it is "possible" to find a needle in a hay stack!




On Wednesday it rained most of the day.  We stayed in and got school work done and Dave worked too.  By evening, the rain stopped so we went back up to the bay to fish and crab.  Cam didn't catch any fish but he started pulling in crabs.  He caught 6 or 7 total and we stayed well  passed dark.  It was a fun night.